The International Problem of Homophobia in Uganda
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What is the World to do? The International Problem of Homophobia in Uganda Katherine Westoll Major research paper submitted to the Faculty of Human Sciences and Philosophy, School of Public Ethics, Saint Paul University, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Public Ethics Ottawa, Canada July 20, 2015 © Katherine Westoll, Ottawa, Canada, 2015 Table of Contents INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................... 3 CHAPTER 1 ............................................................................................................................................................. 6 HISTORICAL TIMELINE OF HOMOPHOBIA ..................................................................................................................... 6 STATE SUPPORTED HOMOPHOBIA .................................................................................................................................. 9 CHAPTER 2 .......................................................................................................................................................... 11 UGANDAN POLITICIANS ON HOMOSEXUALITY ......................................................................................................... 11 THE CHRISTIAN RIGHT ..................................................................................................................................................... 13 INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE TO THE ANTI-HOMOSEXUALITY BILL ................................................................... 18 GAY INTERNATIONAL ....................................................................................................................................................... 22 UGANDAN SEXUAL MINORITIES ................................................................................................................................... 23 HOMOPHOBIC RESULTS .................................................................................................................................................... 26 CHAPTER 3 .......................................................................................................................................................... 26 ETHICAL JUSTIFICATION............................................................................................................................ 26 FOUNDATIONS OF AFRICAN PHILOSOPHY: ORAL TRADITIONS ........................................................................... 30 UBUNTU ................................................................................................................................................................................. 31 SHARED COMMONALITIES AND DIFFERENCES ......................................................................................................... 33 HONOURING HUMAN NATURE ....................................................................................................................................... 35 CHAPTER 4: PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF UBUNTU.................................................................... 37 UBUNTU ................................................................................................................................................................................. 37 UBUNTU AND SEXUAL ORIENTATION .......................................................................................................................... 39 UBUNTU AND DEVELOPMENT ........................................................................................................................................ 43 CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................................................................... 45 APPENDIX I .......................................................................................................................................................... 48 WORKS CITED ................................................................................................................................................... 51 2 Introduction Gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) peoples in Africa, including Uganda, have an international presence that is unprecedented in history. Documentaries, media reports, and interviews of activists on late night American TV with John Oliver have thrown the Ugandan gays and lesbians into the Western spotlight (Onziema). Western media response has idolized socially oppressed activists as social justices darlings like David Kato and Julian Pepe Onziema, a prominent Ugandan transman and gay rights activist, who has received numerous international recognitions and awards, including the 2012 Leadership in Civil Society Award from at the Clinton Global Citizen Awards (Clinton Global Initiative), and the 2014 Hero of the Year at the Stonewall Award (Lane, par. 3). His work has been tireless, passionate, and most certainly courageous, fighting for recognition of LGBTI rights in Uganda (Lane, par. 3). Calling these activists social justice darling is not to diminish the work they have done; rather it is to highlight the Western sympathy for international gay rights. It is not without risk to be an activist of this nature in Uganda, as tragically proven by David Kato, murdered in 2011, a heartbreaking result of his activism; the world mourned in shock, and Kato’s name is synonymous to martyrdom in the LGBTI movement (GLAD: Timeline). For nearly 15 years, systemic homophobia has crept overtly into political platforms in Uganda, a domestic issue that has become an international affair, to be analyzed in this paper. Homosexuality, on the other hand, has not just arrived in Uganda. Homosexuality, in Uganda, and Africa, is not a new phenomenon; queer historian, Marc Epprecht, has dedicated his work to studying homosexuality on the Africa continent, primarily in southern Africa. In Hungochani: The History of a Dissident Sexuality in Southern Africa, Epprecht addresses and shows the historical proof that homosexuality and sexual difference have existed in African perspective 3 prior to colonization. The book focuses on Southern Africa and is contextually relevant to the history in Uganda because of geographic and cultural similarities throughout the continent. For social change, historical accuracy is important, and Epprecht has said that through his work on Hungochani, he is certain there is enough historical material to publish for each region of Africa. This is an area that requires further scholarly work to compliment the activism that is working so hard to achieve social change. Epprecht identifies and explores African LGBTI as a “…pan-regional, proto-queer identity firmly rooted in history… (Epprecht, Hungochani 4)” and seeks to counter a litany of homophobic accusations made against African sexual minorities by giving context, and written history of sexual and identity politics in Africa. History gives context; history figures out why the story is the way it is in contemporary times. Knowledge of homosexual history in Africa is essential in understanding why a culture of homophobia has been growing, rather than diminishing, to make real and enduring change. Just as homosexuality is not new to Uganda, neither is homophobia. The two are hand- in-hand; sexual minorities are a vulnerable group who are persecuted because of their sexual difference. After years of rising overt homophobia in Uganda, 2014 brought confirmation and legal legitimacy to homophobia by criminalizing homosexuals, with an act called The Anti- Homosexuality Act. In 2009, when the bill was tabled, the international community was embroiled in Ugandan sexual politics. The United States’ (US) ‘culture wars’, a catch phrase coined to identify the clash of Christian conservatives versus liberal values primarily over marriage equality and LGBTI serving in the military, has spread internationally, making headquarters in Kampala, Uganda. International conservative and liberals alike have reacted to the Bill/Act by imposing their ideal sexual politics in Uganda under the name of development, 4 with large pockets of money attached to both sides. International outcry and support has lead to international gay and anti-gay demonstrations outside of Uganda, in support of either cause. Largely, in Uganda the social climate is supportive of the legislation, and the topic of homosexuality has fuelled public discourse, leading to discrimination and violence against sexual minorities. The international attention, both conservative and liberal, comes with over arching notions of cultural imperialism and neo-colonialism; simply, both sides are presenting the idea that the West is superior and Africa needs to be ‘fixed’. The dilemma lies in the question of international intervention (or aid) and interference in Uganda’s battle of sexual rights. How should the international community approach the topic of sexual minorities in Uganda, and questioning the validity to international reaction and interference? I will use an African philosophy called “Ubuntu” as the ethical framework. Across the continent of Africa, Ubuntu is simply understood as humanness (Murove, Ubuntu 37). Ubuntu is a humanist ethic with virtues like harmony, kindness, compassion, care, and respect (Murove, Ubuntu 37). A common way to describe Ubuntu is through the proverb “…a person is a person because of other persons.” (Murove, Ubuntu 37)